DonMc's bloghttp://www.cityethics.org/Blog-DonMcClintock
enLarry Lessig's 7 minute plenary speech at the #UNRIG conference in New Orleanshttp://www.cityethics.org/LessigUnrigPlenary
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><h1>Fix Democracy, First</h1>
<pre>
Watch it on youtube here: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMK4rbGJkNw" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMK4rbGJkNw
</a>Lots of coverage of the Summit here on the official website: <a href="https://unrigsummit.com/">https://unrigsummit.com/</a>
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<strong>Text of Larry's speech From</strong>: <a href="https://medium.com/@lessig/fix-democracy-first-1fd1b811722f">https://medium.com/@lessig/fix-democracy-first-1fd1b811722f</a></pre><p><em>What follows is the text for my 7m (or so) speech at the #UNRIG conference in New Orleans at the beginning of the month. What is above is the video. Still struggling to do this well. Responses requested and accepted with gratitude.</em></p>
<p>None of us want to be here.</p>
<p>I don’t mean literally. This is New Orleans, and I’m sharing a stage with Jennifer Lawrence, and my hero, Buddy Roemer, so don’t get me wrong, I’m pretty happy to be here.</p>
<p>But none of us want to&nbsp;have to be here.</p>
<p>None of us want to be living in a democracy where our first fight has got to be about that democracy.</p>
<p>Because all of us believe that there are&nbsp;real things, important things, substantive things&nbsp;that this democracy must do. But can’t do now.</p>
<p>Some of us want it to address climate change. Finally.</p>
<p>Some of us want it to fight the inequality shot through our society — from the&nbsp;hopelessness of steelworkers&nbsp;in Ohio and Michigan, to the mother barely able to provide for her kids while working two jobs, every single day.&nbsp;This is America, and that just is not right.</p>
<p>Some of us want it to kickstart an economy stuck in stall — where middle class wages just hover, they don’t rise, while productivity and corporate profits just rise and rise and rise. For two generations, 50% of Americans have seen no growth in their income. Last year,&nbsp;1% of Americans captured 82% of the wealth&nbsp;that this economy created.</p>
<p>Whatever the issue, what we know — what we, who are here know — is that we won’t address any of those issues, or a million others issues, sensibly, until we fix this democracy first.</p>
<p>This we all know.</p>
<p>What we don’t know is how to do it. I don’t mean what changes we need to make. We know that. We’re pretty good about that. I mean: how do we get America to&nbsp;take up the fight to take back our democracy?</p>
<p>That begins by speaking an obvious truth:&nbsp;They don’t represent us.</p>
<p>When congressmen spend 30 to 70 percent of their time sucking up to no more than 100k rich people, they don’t represent us. They represent them.</p>
<p>When safe-seat gerrymandering makes congressmen care only about the fringes from their own party — because only an even more extreme Democrat or extreme Republican could ever challenge them — they don’t represent us. They represent them.</p>
<p>When the President gets elected with a system that concentrates campaigns in a dozen battlegrounds states — states that represent just 35% of America, and an America that is older and whiter than America as a whole — we know that president can’t represent us. We know that he represents them.</p>
<p>They don’t represent us. And that’s true whether you’re a&nbsp;Republican or a Democrat, whether you are from&nbsp;Montana or North Carolina, whether you’re&nbsp;old or not yet old, whatever your&nbsp;race. Whatever your&nbsp;sex. Whatever, whatever, whatever:&nbsp;They don’t represent us.</p>
<p>That&nbsp;truth&nbsp;is step one.</p>
<p>Step two is to use that&nbsp;truth — a&nbsp;truth&nbsp;already believed by practically every American — to build a different kind of political movement. A political movement that steps to the side and above partisan politics.</p>
<p>All across America there are thousands who have been inspired by Reverend Barber and the Moral Monday Movement. Those thousands — tens of thousands — go from community to community, and say, how could we possibly disagree. Black citizens travel to KKK country, and sitting at the kitchen tables of men whose fathers burned crosses, they ask, “how could we possibly disagree?” And from that question — a question with only one answer — the Moral Monday Movement is building a movement that will knit America together. Not again. But for the first time ever—just maybe.</p>
<p>We need a moral movement here too. We need a movement that doesn’t just hang in DC, but like Granny D, gets citizens to walk with citizens, and to see that on this, we are not divided. We are united.</p>
<p>And then step three: We must turn those citizens to our leaders — to the people we elect to represent us — and tell them, if you want our leaders, you must commit to fixing this, first.</p>
<p>Because at some point, we must draw a line of&nbsp;integrity&nbsp;across the ground that stands before us, and ask, on which side do you stand?</p>
<p>It’s fine to talk about single payer health care. But it’s just not serious unless you show us how you will fix this democracy first.</p>
<p>It’s wonderful to rail against corporate welfare — as conservatives and libertarians call it. But it is just not serious unless you explain how you’re going to fix this democracy first.</p>
<p>They dupe us with our own dreams — with promises of the policies we want our government to enact. As if we’re stupid. We’re not stupid. We know their words mean nothing unless they have a plan to fix this democracy. First.</p>
<p>We’ve been patient for way too long. We have been way too polite for way too long. We must feel our entitlement — we are citizens, and this is a democracy — and use that power, a moral power, to make this change happen now.</p>
<p>Because we can’t afford to be hanging around in conferences like this. We can’t afford a democracy that still needs to fix itself. There is too much to be done. There is too much that a moral America — the only great America that I can imagine — a moral America must do.</p>
<p>Let us, like Reverend Barber, bring America to its feet. Let us, like Granny D, get America to walk. And in those walks, as Dr. King asked us, let us dream again. Dream of the greatness a democracy in America could give.</p>
<p>If we could finally sing in unison to everyone who wants our vote: I will stand with you if you will say to me: I will fix this democracy, first.</p>
<p>Now.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-6 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Story Topics:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/61">Pay-to-Play</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/20">Conferences</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/7">In the news</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-10 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/101">#unrig</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-blog-image field-type-image field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Blog Image:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.cityethics.org/sites/default/files/photographs/blog/2018-02-25%2009_31_30-%28101%29%20Lawrence%20Lessig%20at%20Unrig%202018%20-%20YouTube.png" width="1021" height="890" alt="Larry Lessign speaking in the Plenary Session at #UNRIG Summit in Feb 2018" title="Larry Lessign speaking in the Plenary Session at #UNRIG Summit in Feb 2018" /></div></div></div>Fri, 23 Feb 2018 02:28:42 +0000DonMc4485 at http://www.cityethics.orghttp://www.cityethics.org/LessigUnrigPlenary#commentsCharleston Post Courier Articlehttp://www.cityethics.org/node/4483
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><strong>Carla was interviewed for this article last week:</strong></p>
<p><span style="padding: 0px 6px 0px 0px;"><a href="https://www.postandcourier.com/news/lobbying-is-completely-unregulated-in-most-s-c-cities-leaving/article_eab78734-e00f-11e7-b35b-fbc4091939e9.html" target="_blank">Lobbying is completely unregulated in most SC cities, leaving room for possible corruption</a></span></p>
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<div style="padding: 2px 0px 8px;">
<div style="color: rgb(115, 115, 115); font-size: 12px;"><a>Charleston Post Courier</a></div>
<div style="color: rgb(37, 37, 37); padding: 2px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">That lack of transparency could become especially problematic in growing cities such as Charleston, where more national and international companies are showing up to do business, according to&nbsp;<b>Carla Miller</b>, ethics director for the city of Jacksonville, Fla. "The bigger your city is, the more complex it is,"<br />
&nbsp;...<br />
"If you have a strong lobbying registration system and you've thought out the loopholes, you could have the people determine the future of your city instead of the corporations who want to make money," she said.</div>
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</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-blog-image field-type-image field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Blog Image:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.cityethics.org/sites/default/files/photographs/blog/2017-12-18%2011_17_40-Lobbying.png" width="1172" height="1031" alt="Charleston Post Courier-Carla Miller quoted..." title="Charleston Post Courier" /></div></div></div>Mon, 18 Dec 2017 15:55:32 +0000DonMc4483 at http://www.cityethics.orghttp://www.cityethics.org/node/4483#commentsGreat Editorial from the Jacksonville Times Unionhttp://www.cityethics.org/JaxTU-10-17-2017-Editorial
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>In today's <a href="http://jacksonville.com/opinion/editorials/2017-10-18/wednesday-editorial-public-officials-should-heed-lessons-ethics" target="_blank">Jacksonville&nbsp;Times Union</a> Editorial:</p>
<h1>Ethics reminders for public officials</h1>
<p>Working or volunteering for city government gives you no personal or business advantages. In fact, it can be a disadvantage.<br />
That’s the word from Jacksonville’s ethics expert, Carla Miller. She has spent about 20 years in the ethics field in Jacksonville and has built a state and national reputation.<br />
Now the city is lucky to have her advice on ethics. If city officials are smart, they will consult her and stay out of trouble.</p>
<p>That is Miller’s job.<br />
She’s glad to help.</p>
<p><em><strong>Read the whole Editorial at the Times Union website:</strong></em><br />
<a href="http://jacksonville.com/opinion/editorials/2017-10-18/wednesday-editorial-public-officials-should-heed-lessons-ethics">http://jacksonville.com/opinion/editorials/2017-10-18/wednesday-editoria...</a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-6 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Story Topics:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/5">City Related</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/47">Ethics Reform</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/7">In the news</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/21">City of Jacksonville</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/press/CarlaMiller">Press for Carla Miller</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-blog-image field-type-image field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Blog Image:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.cityethics.org/sites/default/files/photographs/blog/2017-10-19_17-01-57.png" width="683" height="571" alt="Jax T/U October 19 2017 Editorial Page" title="Great Times Union Editoral " /></div></div></div>Thu, 19 Oct 2017 21:09:47 +0000DonMc4482 at http://www.cityethics.orghttp://www.cityethics.org/JaxTU-10-17-2017-Editorial#commentsA new way to influence elections without transparencyhttp://www.cityethics.org/node/4481
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>We&nbsp;are seeing the first detailed evidence of the tampering that went on during the 2016 campaign for U.S. President. &nbsp;This is a whole new category of "nasty" that allows people without scruples to feed false information into the mix without any transparency. &nbsp;In this article, the NY Times lays out a host of Facebook and Twitter advertising that was purchased (estimated at $100,000 in paid advertising) but sources were never &nbsp;revealed - as you might expect.</p>
<p><strong>Read the article in full here:</strong><br />
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/07/us/politics/russia-facebook-twitter-election.html ">https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/07/us/politics/russia-facebook-twitter-e...</a></p>
<p>Here's an excerpt:</p>
<p><em>An investigation by The New York Times, and new research from the cybersecurity firm FireEye, reveals some of the mechanisms by which suspected Russian operators used Twitter and Facebook to spread anti-Clinton messages and promote the hacked material they had leaked. On Wednesday, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/06/technology/facebook-russian-political-ads.html">Facebook officials</a> disclosed that they had shut down several hundred accounts that they believe were created by a Russian company linked to the Kremlin and used to buy $100,000 in ads pushing divisive issues during and after the American election campaign.</em></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-6 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Story Topics:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/35">Campaign Finance</a></div></div></div>Sun, 10 Sep 2017 22:45:07 +0000DonMc4481 at http://www.cityethics.orghttp://www.cityethics.org/node/4481#commentsNice editorial in the Jacksonville Times Unionhttp://www.cityethics.org/node/4478
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>From: <a href="http://jacksonville.com/editorials/2017-02-14/wednesday-s-editorial-ethics-refresher-city-officials">http://jacksonville.com/editorials/2017-02-14/wednesday-s-editorial-ethi...</a></p>
<p>Posted February 14, 2017 06:21 pm<br />
By<br />
<strong>Times-Union editorial board</strong></p>
<h2>Wednesday’s editorial: An ethics refresher for city officials</h2>
<p>Members of Jacksonville’s boards and commissions recently received an ethics refresher course from Carla Miller, the city’s ethics director.</p>
<p>Miller, who has studied at Harvard on the subject of ethics, is an expert. And while the legalities of ethics can sometimes be confusing, Jacksonville has made it easy to stay out of trouble. Simply ask Miller for direction when a potentially troublesome situation arises.</p>
<p>She can offer advice ranging from go ahead, proceed with caution or stay away.</p>
<p>She offered a few examples of trouble spots:</p>
<ul>
<li>Public officials could be in trouble if they accept anything of value for them or their families; accept something over $100 and it can be illegal.</li>
<li>They could be in trouble if they ask for favors or gifts for them or their families.</li>
<li>They could be in trouble if they don’t keep a record of public business such as documents, text messages and emails.</li>
</ul>
<p>Common-sense rules also apply to Florida’s open meetings and public records laws. State law presumes that the people have a right to be involved in the entire process of decision-making, not as a last-minute afterthought.</p>
<p>“All meetings are open to the public and they have a right to comment on issues before you take final action,” quoting a document from Miller. “There should no discussion of board issues outside of your formally noticed meetings.”</p>
<p>Florida’s Government in the Sunshine law has three major requirements:</p>
<ul>
<li>Meetings of two or more members of a public body must be open and accessible to the public.</li>
<li>Reasonable advance notice must be given. Usually this means at least three days’ notice. If 24 hours notice is being considered, consult Miller.</li>
<li>Written minutes must be taken and open for inspection.</li>
</ul>
<p>There is no requirement in the law to make audio or video recordings of meetings though that often is done as a convenience for the public.</p>
<p>Public officials sometimes take the law to an extreme.</p>
<p>Of course, it’s OK to speak to one another about issues that are not expected to come before the public body such as family matters or sports.</p>
<p>In short, the people have a right to be included in the people’s business.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-6 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Story Topics:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/7">In the news</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/21">City of Jacksonville</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/press/CarlaMiller">Press for Carla Miller</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/31">Successes</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-blog-image field-type-image field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Blog Image:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.cityethics.org/sites/default/files/photographs/blog/2017-02-19%2011_11_58-Florida%20Times%20Union.png" width="609" height="525" alt="As it was published on 2/15" title="2/15 Times Union Editorial on Ethics Training" /></div></div></div>Sun, 19 Feb 2017 16:16:32 +0000DonMc4478 at http://www.cityethics.orghttp://www.cityethics.org/node/4478#comments